New state gun control law may aid Kingston high school overhaul plan (video)

By KYLE WIND

Sunday, January 20, 2013

KINGSTON, N.Y. - School officials are looking into whether the proposed $92 million high school overhaul could benefit from funding available for school safety through the state's new gun control law.

Superintendent Paul Padalino said the law, which was passed by the state Legislature Tuesday, provides an additional 10 percent in building aid for certain infrastructure improvements designed to improve security, like installing hardened doors, bulletproof glass and surveillance cameras.

With the additional money, the state would pay for "almost 74 percent" of those types of infrastructure improvements because the Kingston school district generally gets about a 63 percent ratio of state dollars to local expenditures on building upgrades and maintenance, Padalino said.

Still, the superintendent expressed some reluctance to drive the price tag of the project up much higher and said any security upgrades would be for targeted needs.

"Aid to spend money on something you hadn't planned to spend money on is like going to the store and saying you saved money cause you bought shoes because they were 40 percent off, but you didn't need the shoes," Padalino said.

Padalino had hoped to receive alternative options to the "Second Century Capital Project" from architectural consultants that would more specifically take into account the administration's plans to divide the campus into several smaller academies by mid February.

The superintendent said that timeline has been moved back again as KSQ Architects and BBL Construction officials continue to look for ways to add flexibility to the campus, in part through better parking and dropoff areas.

Padalino has said he does not want a building design that would lock future school leaders into living with current decisions about the academic program.

The superintendent expects to see the new proposals in late March or early April.